Equinix to Buy 24 Verizon Data Center Sites

This morning we have yet more consolidation to add to the pile that has been accumulating during the final quarter of 2016. Equinix has agreed to purchase a portfolio of 29 data centers on 24 sites from none other than Verizon.
That Verizon has been looking to monetize its data center assets hasn't been much of a secret over the past few years, the rumors have ebbed and flowed several times. And Equinix has always been one of the likeliest buyers, so today's isn't going to surprise anyone. Here's Equinix's visual representation of the acquired assets relative to its existing footprint:

The assets span 12 metro areas Equinix is already in (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Sao Paulo, Seattle, Silicon Valley, and Washington DC) as well as three new ones (Bogota, Culpeper, and Houston). Many of those (particularly Miami and Culpeper) came with the $1.4B Terremark acquisition of course, which was just shy of 6 years ago now (has it really been that long?)

The purchase is entirely focused on North and South America. The full portfolio adds up to 2.4M square feet and includes 900 new customers customers.

Equinix will be paying $3.6B to acquire the assets, and will be bringing about 250 Verizon employees on-board as well. The deal is expected to close in mid-2017, assuming all goes well.